


Signal Back From Satellite

by Memories_of_the_Shadows



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Being Lost, Canon Related, Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts, F/M, Family Feels, Goodbyes, IN SPACE!, Message in a bottle, Tony Angst, the author made herself cry, the bottle is the suit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-20
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-11-08 15:20:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17983610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Memories_of_the_Shadows/pseuds/Memories_of_the_Shadows
Summary: He’s never seen stars like this.  Never seen anything like this.





	Signal Back From Satellite

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from “Satellite 15... The Final Frontier” by Iron Maiden. This song inspired the whole fic so definitely recommend.

The stars were different than the ones he was used to.

Not that Tony has ever been in the habit of looking at the stars, especially not after the battle for New York, but his Rhodey has always had a soft spot for space and Tony just soaked up all knowledge like a sponge. His platypus is probably shaking down NASA’s doors right now, or Musk’s. The thought makes him grin.

(Sometimes he thought Rhodey had wanted to be an astronaut, but he had never ever told Tony that so he didn’t know _for sure_. His honey bear was still going to be the first person he asked to test any space ships he built for SI. It was only right. Not that that was going to happen now. One more way he let his best friend down.)

He doesn’t even know if he’s drifting the right way anymore, the guidance system says they are, but how would Tony know? He’s never seen stars like this. Never seen anything like this.

They’re so strange, but beautiful, he can see why Rhodey liked them. Likes. Tony did this all for them after all--Pep, the kid, his bots, and Rhodey--so there is nothing in the world that will allow him to believe they’re all gone.

Nebula is asleep--they take it in shifts--so Tony really is alone and has been for much longer than he likes and he’s not used to that anymore.

Dum-E had been his first friend, his first foray into artificial intelligence, and he even misses that stupid little bot. Tony remembers building it in Howard’s labs, remembers taking it with him to M.I.T., remembers making U too, and what else is he going to think about? Afghanistan? At least the memory of his bots is pleasant.

Being alone, his life drifts by like the stars in the sky. There’s very little food left, and the water will last only a little longer.

Thanos destroyed half of all life everywhere. Tony wonders if FRIDAY counts as life. Wonders if his girl is right now saving what’s left of the world. JARVIS would be. (He hates comparing them, FRIDAY is just so young, but it happens. It hurts so much to know that he’ll never see any of them grow up. JARVIS is gone, Vision is dead, and FRIDAY is too many light-years away for them to venture without divine intervention that Tony doesn’t believe in. At least his girl has a chance.)

Pep, though, his Pepper is always there whenever he closes his eyes. It’s always her. Tony doesn’t want to think about what she’s doing right now on Earth. That’s like admitting she doesn’t live with him in his mind.

Tony tries to pick up an Earth signal again. Anything. Even SETI would be preferable to the endless nothing.

He flew too close to the sun, all his life, and now he’s paying the price.

But seeing those stars, that vast expanse that maybe no human has ever seen before and who knows when they ever will again, Tony finds it hard to have any regrets.

If only he could talk to his family one last time. Give them a goodbye. Just something so that they know he didn’t die without doing everything in his power to get back to them.

It’s not like he’s going to need the armor anymore. If anything will survive to get to Earth, it will. The wiring isn’t too complex, either.

Maybe he can get a signal to them after all.

**Author's Note:**

> This came from listening to the song the title came from on repeat because it’s one of my favorites and seeing a bus go by with the Avengers: Endgame poster on it. Everything just clicked in my head and I knew I had to write this. I hope everyone enjoys this!
> 
> (Also, a note: this was written and published prior to the movie coming out and so this is entirely based on the preview and the previous movies. Thanks!)
> 
> Please visit me at my [tumblr](https://sachinighte.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
